No 223 - Squale 50atm Blue

It was love at first sight. It was spring back in 2014 and my feelings for Squale were at an all-time high. I think this blue version of the 50atm was released sometime in late 2013 in a collaboration together with Page & Cooper and I think it later became a permanent part of Squale’s official line-up due to its huge success. It was simply irresistible as Robert Palmer would have put it. The watch was already sold out when I found out about its existence and I was on a constant lookout for one during the first quarter of 2014. Then in April 2014 one suddenly popped up on eBay from a seller in the UK. I contacted the seller and he offered me a good deal outside of eBay and he had it sent to me with an overnight delivery. BOOM!

The watch was beautiful! The blue sunburst dial when hit by the sun was mesmerizing. Unfortunately this watch had a problem with the balance wheel when I received it. I contacted Page & Cooper who refused to help me just because I wasn’t the original owner, even though the watch was still under warranty, so I had to take it to a local watchmaker who helped me out.  Because this was a newer Squale it had that bloody engraving on the side of the case but I tried to put up with it because it was so great in general. OK, so that horrible milanese type mesh it came with was both ugly and uncomfortable and I had to wear it on a black Squale rubber, but aside from that it was great. This was supposed to be my watch for the summer but I ended up selling it after I got a hold of a blue Tag Heuer Aquaracer 500 (upcoming post).

Simply irresistible! Product image borrowed from www.squale.ch

The watch somehow ended up in my possession again later the same year (probably taken as a part trade) but then I had good plan for it. A little face-lift. I ordered a real shark mesh for it from Strapcode, that had a polished butterfly clasp instead of the traditional belt buckle type, and it turned out frakking amazing! A match made in heaven. 

#223 - The blue Squale 50atm.

I assume they thought that the engraving was going to look nice but god were they wrong.

On the new shark mesh together with the other two strap options it was delivered with.

Fantastic with the butterfly clasp!

I kept it for a while but it finally moved on to a new home in January 2015. I actually haven’t had any other Squale’s since then. Gnomon Watches have had a couple of limited editions that have looked interesting but not interesting enough. Recently though I was extremely close to purchase the limited edition 50atm Marina Militare that was a collaboration together with the Dutch company AWCO but I finally decided to pass on it. It looked really good but it was that damn engraving again that made me hesitate. Nowadays it seems like everyone who wants to make a limited edition Squale are allowed to do so. It’s quite boring when everyone who can pay up can put their brand on something, but looking back that’s exactly what Squale have been doing throughout their history so I guess that’s nothing new and nothing to be upset about. 

Look at that amazing blue tone!

 

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 180 - Squale 1553-020

Found this one for sale in July 2013. Figured it looked quite cool and it was about $100 so what the hell. It measured 40mm and housed a quartz movement. It was delivered on a nice Bonetto Cinturini rubber which suited it well. I really liked the gray matte dial and the crumbling tritium gave it a true vintage look. It still had the original case back sticker on it so I assume this must have been one of those NOS Squale’s that they started to sell a couple of years ago.

#180 - The Squale 1553-020.

Look at the little teeth! I hadn't noticed them before.

I hardly wore this watch but my wife took it out sailing a couple of times. Flipped it after it had been lying around for too long without being used.

My wife out sailing in July 2013.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 179 - Squale 50atm PVD

This is another watch that I got a whole lot of history with. I had already decided that I had to buy a watch during our honeymoon in Rome. A Panerai would of course have been very cool, being in Italy and all, but I wanted something more “me” and in a lower price range. The obvious choice was of course Squale. I marked out a couple of Squale AD’s on our map and one day I headed down to Watch You Want; the store I felt was most promising. Inside I met Laura who was very nice and service minded. She made me a good deal on the PVD-version of the 50atm and threw in a couple of extra straps and some other Squale merchandise. I was a very satisfied customer when I walked out of that store. The Squale got to spend a lot of time on the wrist for the remaining part of 2013 and the first half of 2014. Here are just a few moments of where it got to accompany me during that time. 

Laura and I at the time of purchase. June 2013. Rome, Italy.

#179 - The Squale 50atm PVD. A wrist shot outside the store.

I remember taking this one while my wife was trying on dresses.

I thought I had ordered a big bowl of pasta and was a bit surprised when I found this long veal intestine lying curled up in the bottom of the bowl. Tasty stuff!

But like so many times before there were some moments were it got to lie still for too long in the drawer which freaked me out. It had to make room for something else. I think I first let it go as a part trade for an old 70’s two-tone Datejust. The Datejust turned out to look like shit inside (but that’s another story) so the deal went back and the Squale bounced back. I then later traded it for a Certina DS-3 re-issue and even though the guy who got the Squale sold it away I managed to keep track on it and it finally ended up bouncing back at me for a second time. I had strong sentimental feelings for it and I really didn’t want to let anyone else have it even though I wasn't using it. I bought a whole bunch of PVD nato straps for it trying to bring some new life to it but it wasn’t enough to make me start using it more. I can’t remember what it was this time that made me want to sell it but it ended up selling it in the middle of June 2014. After losing it this third time I lost track of it and it was gone forever.

Back home. On my way to work on an August morning.

Another wrist shot from the same morning as above. The AR coating on this watch was great. It sometimes felt like it had no crystal at all.

Brothers of the pike. Time for drin... fishing!

Dinner is served!

A well-deserved Gin and Tonic.

The bass pro.

A good haul of some fat perch.

I still have feelings for this watch and I hate to think about it. It just makes me sad. I try to console myself by thinking the older tritium version is better than the newer luminova version that I had with the ugly engraving on the side. Wait a minute! Perhaps that was it? The hideous engraving! Why the hell did they put that on the side of the case? It looks terrible. I should try to get a hold of the older version instead, that’s what I must do! 

The last pictures I took of it before it left me for the third time.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 136 - Squale 1545-058

I bought this medium sized quartz diver new back in July 2012 directly from the Squale official webstore. I just had a look in the webstore and was amazed to see that Squale still have all those NOS-watches in stock for sale. They either have a shitload of old parts or they don’t sell these watches at all. The 38mm case is similar (if not the same) as the old Heuer and Tag Heuer 1000-series which today are popular collector’s items. I'm surprised not more people pick this model up instead.

#136 - The Squale 1545-058 from the Leisure-series.

The watch arrived in the classic blue Squale box. I didn’t even have to put it on the wrist before I realized it wasn’t for me. It was simply too small. Don’t get me wrong, I can wear 36mm watches without a problem, it was its proportions that was off which made it feel small. Its edges also felt sharp, unfinished somehow, and the bezel action was the worst I’ve ever felt I think. To complete my dissatisfaction the color of the lume on the hands and the indexes of the dial didn’t have the same tone. 

Check out the color difference of the hands and the indexes. Can't stand details like that.

I think it might be a good idea to pick up a few of the old NOS Squale’s while they’re still available. Some of them are quite cool and I especially like their 35mm two toned Corallo 200m which might work as a good vacation dresswatch that still could function for water sport activities. I love it that they also have the “his and hers”-versions available. They don’t cost very much so adding one or two to your vintage collection could very likely pay off in the future. 

Squale has a new line of 1545’s (the Submariner copies) which are a joke and I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing one. I can’t understand why they would want to associate their classic brand with that kind of watches. Of course they want to make money but I would say Squale is on the verge of selling out too much and will risk becoming an embarrassment instead of a well-regarded watch manufacturer. I really think they’re heading in the wrong direction with those watches and it’s truly sad to see.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 85 & 134 – Squale Tiger

The Tiger is such a badass watch. As I mentioned last time, the Tiger was delivered together with my first 50atm directly from Squale. I actually thought it looked pretty ugly at first sight but it was quite cheap and when purchasing two watches I received a little discount so I decided to get them both. It looked like something I’d never seen before which also made me want to try it and see what it was all about. Yes, it had some Omega Plo-prof feel too it with its red push button on the side but apart from that it didn’t feel like a Plo-prof at all. It was actually super thin which was quite unexpected. Going through all the details of The Tiger you realize it's a rather unique piece.

Just as the 50atm the Tiger was also built from NOS-parts and fitted with a new ETA movement. The movement inside the Tiger was calibrated perfect and really kept the time super accurate. It was delivered on an ugly baby blue rubber that wasn’t as comfortable or nice looking as the one on the 50atm. I mostly wore it on a black 20mm rubber from Timefactors that looked like an Isofrane rubber but made of much crappier material. The Tiger is designed to be worn on top of a wetsuit and the case back has a sharp pyramid/waffle pattern to create friction against the suit but when it was worn directly on the skin for a longer period of time it started to feel really uncomfortable and itchy. Putting it on a nato strap solved the problem but unfortunately it wasn’t very good looking. That was the main reason why I decided to part with the Tiger.

The Tiger was really photogenic because of its fantastic blue sunburst dial. Here are some pictures of the first one I had.

#85 - The Squale Tiger. Here on the black rubber borrowed from the 50atm.

On the Timefactors Isofrane.

Good view of the unusual case back.

On a gray 20mm Phoenix nato.

At Team PYA's secret HQ.

Pike fishing in August 2011. Not much action going on here.

One year later in July 2012 I got a second chance to give the Tiger another shot but it didn’t work out this time either. I still think it’s a really cool and exceptional watch that looks great. It really felt like a genuine vintage tool diver. 

#134 - The second Tiger. This one had the lume marker on the bezel missing.

June the 14th 2012. Chilling in the sun getting ready for Machine Head.

Machine Head live at Gröna Lund, Stockholm, Sweden. A great gig!

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 84 – Squale 50atm

During July 2011 I placed an order on the official Squale homepage for two watches. One of them was the Squale 50atm. This was the NOS-version based on the old parts that had been fitted with a new ETA 2824-2 movement. The 50atm shares its case with many other dive watches from that same era and is one of my absolute favorite designs of all time.

I think it was Fedex that arrived at my office around lunch time. The other watch was a Squale Tiger which I wasn’t that excited about; I just got it because I got a good deal when purchasing two watches. So the 50atm was the one I put on the wrist first. I just loved that rubber strap. So flexible and comfortable with that great smell of vanilla. 

#84 - The Squale 50atm ref. 1521-026/A.

There was actually nothing to complain about regarding this watch. It was perfect. Of course I didn’t realize that at the time but after owning several other Squale watches and seeing what they have come up with latley nothing can’t really beat the old traditional 50atm with the tritium dial. And the fact that it was built on old NOS-parts and had a new movement inside just made it better since I'm not a fan of old rusty vintage movements. Goddamn, I even lost money selling it which today really makes me pissed off. F**k!

Captured during Midsummers Eve 2011.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.